Fun in the Sun

Since my best friend moved back about two weeks ago, I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. The result is that I’ve actually been less active online. I’m so exhausted from fitting in the work and the play that I come home, usually skip the computer, and spend at least five hours trying to sleep. Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun. I enjoy spending time with her so much and I forgot how much I missed her. She has two little girls — and a big husband — and getting to know the little ones better is fun, too.

Her mother-in-law hosted a welcome home/bithday party Saturday, so I attended. I got a lot of sun.. but only on one arm. It looks pretty silly. I’m enjoying wearing shorts and tank tops and feeling more comfortable with my body. Plus, I am considering that I might tan. The sun I’m getting isn’t working toward a tan, but I’m okay if I get a little tan. I like it, especially on my face, because it helps to even out my ruddy complexion.

On Sunday, she and her husband went house shopping. Because we’re kind of, sort of talking about moving in together, I went with. We visited seven or so houses, most of which we’d found online through a friend’s realtor. There was one that all the ladies liked and it happened to be the first one we saw. It’s not huge, but a great starter home, with five bedrooms, an extra den/family room and a clean, albeit not finished, basement.

There really was only one other home that worked for them, until they realized they couldn’t get a loan. A lot of the houses were simply ridiculous, in need of far more DIY work than the couple could realistically put in. Still, I enjoy looking at homes. I like DIY and house flipping shows, too. It’s interesting to see how some are laid out. There were two houses that were particularly interest.

1. Was a tiny bungalow. It wasn’t on our list specifically. Someone else suggested it. However, it was really too small for my friend. It did have a nice backyard, fenced in with dog kennels and a fire pit. However, it was a tiny house with an awkwardly placed third bedroom (dining room?), walkthrough living room that led to a loft/style staircase. It definitely wasn’t meant for a growing family. The strange part, however, was that there was a front door pretty much painted on. The only entrances were at the back, and I guess the owners felt that the house looked odd. So they attached some 2x4s and painted into a fake door, with a fake knob and lock. Then, they surrounded it with a deck. When we realized this, we were all perplexed. Plus, the listing said there was a basement but no one could find a door.
2. The second house was some sort of prefab from the ’50s or ’60s, complete with a carport. Above, was a screened in porch area, but it didn’t seem safe enough to really use. The split level design was interesting; although, the previous owners had started a renovation they never finished. There were no baseboards, the windows needed to be redone, there was a gigantic maze of a basement that appeared to have been gutted, the deck was falling apart and it didn’t even seem like there was heat. It looked like it might have been something in its heyday, but that day was long house. Because of its labyrinthine basement, we call it the dungeon house.

I don’t know if I’ll go along for any more house hunting, but I definitely felt like it was an adventure! At one point, we drove passed a gaping hole in the street. At another, someone shot off a single firework right next to us. I nearly jumped into the closest person’s arms, Scooby Doo style. Perhaps everything is more exciting with the right person. d=